LITTLE ROCK — WHEN 7:49 p.m. Central today
WHERE The Superdome, New Orleans
RECORDS Kansas 31-6, Ohio State 31-7
SEEDS Kansas No. 2 in Midwest Region, Ohio State No. 2 in East Region
SERIES Kansas leads 6-3 TV CBS
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
KANSAS
POS. NAME, HT., YR. PPG RPG
G Tyshawn Taylor, 6-3, Sr. 16.7 2.3
G Elijah Johnson, 6-4, Jr. 10.0 3.1
G Travis Releford, 6-6, Jr. 8.5 4.2
F Thomas Robinson, 6-10, Jr. 17.7 11.8
C Jeff Withey, 7-0, Jr. 9.2 6.2
OFF THE BENCH
G Connor Teahan, 6-6, Sr. 5.7 2.1
F Kevin Young, 6-8, Jr. 3.6 2.9
COACH Bill Self (475-157 overall)
OHIO STATE
POS. NAME, HT., YR. PPG RPG
G William Buford, 6-6, Sr. 14.4 4.9
G Aaron Craft, 6-2, So. 8.8 3.3
G Lenzelle Smith Jr., 6-4, So. 6.7 4.6
F Jared Sullinger, 6-9, So. 17.6 9.1
F Deshaun Thomas, 6-7, So. 16.1 5.4
OFF THE BENCH
F Evan Ravenel, 6-8, Jr. 3.5 2.2
F J.D. Weatherspoon, 6-6, So. 3.0 1.1
COACH Thad Matta (323-95 overall)
CHALK TALK Jared Sullinger has drawn most of the attention on and off the court, but Ohio State has some solid support for him. In seven postseason games, Deshaun Thomas is averaging 20.3 points and shooting 54 percent from the floor. Aaron Craft is one of the nation’s best defensive guards, and Williams Buford leads the team with 59 three-pointers and is the second-winningest player the Buckeyes have had. ... Thomas Robinson has been the unquestioned star for Kansas, but his supporting cast has been inconsistent. Point guard Tyshawn Taylor had 22 points in the victory over North Carolina to get to the Final Four, but that was four points less than he had in the three previous games combined. He also has not made a three-pointer in his past four games. Jeff Withey had 10 blocks against North Carolina State, but he’s had more points than that only once in the past four games.
Sports, Pages 23 on 03/31/2012